A True Story
by nanoteknology
Summary: AU: What if the siege of the north had ended in the Fire Nation’s favor? eventual ZukoxYue, implied SokkaxYue, character death
1. Bedtime at the North Pole

AU: What if the siege of the north had ended in the Fire Nation's favor? (eventual ZukoxYue)(implied SokkaxYue)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Nor do I own the two-and-a-half lines I ripped straight from the show. I'll give you a virtual cookie if you can find them. On with the show!

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The sky grew dark slowly at the north pole, and the icy fortress began to glow against the dark sky like blue crystal. It was a sight to behold, taking your breath away as quickly as the frosty air it inhabited. It was not as beautiful as Kina remembered, however, back when she was just a young girl. Before the Fire Nation, almost inevitably, attacked.

Kina looked out across the canal that ran just outside her door and remembered how much brighter it seemed twenty years ago. So much had happened in that time, it seemed like an eternity. She was no longer a little girl, she had children of her own to raise. Speaking of which…

"Mo-om! You promised us a bedtime story!" A chubby boy, aged five, stood glaring from the top of the stairway in their home. He stood akimbo, fat fingers balled up into his blue parka. Kina could tell that his dark hair had not been brushed, but she decided to let it go this time. She walked up the stairway with a dramatic sigh, then suddenly picked up her son and swung him into his bed, both of them giggling.

"You're right, Bao. But perhaps we should wait for your sist-"

"I'm here! I'm here!" gasped a skinny girl, eight years old. In looks, she took after her mother's decidedly skinny frame, and was all knees and elbows as she skidded into the bed next to Bao's. Her hair had been neatly brushed and put up into the high bun she wore at night, and she gave her mother a look of superiority over her brother's nighttime routine skills.

"All right then, Jinni. Which story would you like tonight?"

"A new one!" Jinni said without a moment's hesitation. "But not some dumb made-up one like the one about the magic hog-monkey."

"A _true _story, huh?"

Jinni and Bao both nodded in unison.

"One with lotsa fighting!" added Bao solemnly. Jinni glared condescendingly at her younger brother.

"Nu-uh! It's gotta be _romantic_!"

"That's BORING!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Momma, tell him it isn't!"

"Hush, both of you!" Kina said, trying to break up the constant fight between the two siblings. "Let's compromise! I'll think of a story with fighting _and _romance, okay? Will that work?"

"I guess…" said Bao, giving in.

"Okay." Jinni replied grudgingly, crossing her small arms.

"Hmmm…fighting _and _romance…" Kina said, tapping her index finger to her chin and staring out into the distance. "Okay," she said finally, "I've got it."

"What's this one about?" Asked Jinni, sitting up straighter in the bed.

"This one is about a princess." Kina began.

"Oooh." murmured her daughter appreciatively. Bao remained unmoved.

"But princesses don't _fight_!" he complained.

"Do too! Princess Azula fights!" Jinni argued.

"Well she's Fire Nation! They don't count!"

"How do you know the story isn't about Princess Azula?"

"Mo-om! The story isn't about Azula, is it? I don't wanna hear a story about a dirty Fire Nation princess!"

"No, it's not about a Fire Nation princess. This princess was from our own Water Tribe." Kina interjected.

"Toldja." smirked Jinni.

"No you didn-"

"Enough!" their mother exclaimed "Do we have to go through this fighting every night?" Neither of the children had a reply, so she continued cautiously. "Her name was Princess Yue." Kina was interrupted again as her daughter leaned out of her bed and spat on the cold floor.

"The traitor!" Jinni exclaimed.

"Hey! No spitting indoors! It's not ladylike. And Princess Yue was no traitor. Where did you hear that from?"

"Ten-Dyen."

"The little boy who lives across the canal from us?"

"Ten-Dyen isn't _little,_ momma, he's _thirteen._ He knows lotsa stuff like that!"

"Does he know more than your mom?"

"Well…I dunno. He knows lotsa stuff."

"I know 'lotsa stuff' too. I was about your age, Jinni, when this actually happened, so I think I know more about Princess Yue then Ten-Dyen."

"Okay, momma." Jinni said finally, crushed that Ten-Dyen had lied to her.

"This story is also about a prince." continued Kina. Bao listened in closely. Finally, a story that wasn't all about girls.

"Was he a Water Tribe prince?" interjected Jinni. She wasn't interrupting on purpose this time; she was now genuinely interested. Anything with a boy and a girl sparked seeds of tragic romances in her overactive eight-year-old mind.

"Actually, this was a Fire Nation prince." Jinni almost spat again, but a stern glance from her mother warned her not to. "He was Crown Fire Prince Zuko." Now it was Bao's turn to interrupt.

"I thought he was the Fire Lord!"

"He wasn't _always _Fire Lord, stupid." Jinni rebuked her brother.

"Don't call your brother stupid, Jinni." Kina said sharply, but then let out yet another drawn-out sigh. "But you're right, he began as the Crown Prince. Now at this time, he and Princess Yue were about sixteen, and Admiral Zhao's siege of our city had begun…"

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The sun began to rise on the North Pole. Zuko, the banished prince, rowed back toward the massive fleet of ships as they approached the icy city he had just left. In his small rowboat, tied up at the other end, was the Avatar. He had been waiting for this moment for three long, hard years and through many fruitless searches. But now, the prize was in sight. The prize was bound and gagged in his boat, for Agni's sake! But somehow, Zuko was still not satisfied. He was still unsure of what to do _next_. Not just about what to do with the boy at the other end of the rowboat, but what he would do when he returned to his homeland and his father's good graces. Would he be satisfied to have his father's love again? The banished prince fervently hoped it would be enough.

But he still could not help but wonder with each dip of the oars through the sun-flecked water: _What now? What now? What now?…_

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Princess Yue was already awake as the sun began to rise. The sun seemed to get into her eyes no matter which way she turned her head, just like how her thoughts of the Fire Nation's imminent attack seemed to get into every inch of her brain. She had tried to get some sleep, she _really_ tried, but what little sleep she had was fitful and restless. Yue threw the thick covers off of her bed and walked to the window in her room. The window used to overlook the ocean, but now all she could see were ships. Hundreds upon thousands of Fire Navy ships, blanketing the ocean with gray metal.

She finally pried her eyes away from the sight when she heard a knock on her door, and what sounded like someone clearing their throat unnecessarily.

"Yes?" she asked, turning to face the door.

"Uh…Princess Yue? I, um, hope I'm not interrupting…" Yue grinned. She could recognize that voice anywhere. Then the grin slipped off her face as she realized that she couldn't see him anymore. She couldn't _like_ him anymore. Yue regained her composure as she opened the door from the inside.

"Sokka…" She really wished she could tell him to go away, but the words were frozen in her throat like almost everything else in the North Pole.

"It's not what you think." He told her, his eyes downcast. "I've been sent by your father to protect you."

"I don't need to be protected!" She snapped, a little too forcefully than she meant it to be. Sokka looked hurt, and he lowered his head even more, enough to be considered a bow. After a few seconds, Yue let herself put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean-"

"If there's anything I can do for you, Princess, I'm willing to help."

"Please, don't act like this Sokka. What I meant is: I'm not the one who needs your help right now." The warrior looked up quizzically.

"If not you, than who?" Yue bit her lip before speaking, a habit Sokka found very attractive, if only for a second.

"It's the Avatar…Aang. He was crossing into the Spirit World when he and Katara were…attacked…by some man with a scar-"

"Zuko." Sokka breathed, fully upright now. "We've got to find them, and fast."

"They were at the spirit oasis." Yue supplied.

"Okay. You remember Appa, right?"

"How could I forget?" Yue replied, allowing herself a small smile.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Zuko raised the boat up into the Admiral's ship as quietly as he could. When he finally pulled himself up to the lower deck, he was only half-surprised to see the Admiral himself waiting for him.

"Zhao." said Zuko, putting as much venom as he could into that one word. Which, being as exhausted as he was from swimming in icy waters, fighting a waterbending master, rowing the Avatar back to the Fire Navy ships, and most recently, hoisting the rowboat back up on frayed ropes _by himself_, it did not amount to much.

"Ah, Zuko, the banished prince," the Admiral said, leaving cruel emphasis on the word 'banished,' "I thought I ordered you dead. You're like a elephant-roach, you know, taking your sweet time in dying. No matter. I can kill you myself now."

"You wouldn't. I have the Avatar." Zuko replied, cautiously stepping off of the rowboat.

"But Zuko, that's what you don't understand. You can't have the Avatar if you're deceased." As he spoke, something clicked in Zuko's semi-frozen brain.

"You were the one who ordered me dead?" he asked.

"Oh, don't look so surprised, dear prince. You were in my way, and with the invasion of the North Pole fast-approaching, you still are. Now if you would kindly _step down_…" Zhao threw a fireball at Zuko's head, which he dodged at the last second while dealing a fiery blow of his own.

"Why are you doing this?" the prince said angrily as the fire began to warm him again.

"Don't make me repeat myself. I told you: you are in my way. You are in the way of my siege of the north, of my search for the Avatar, and my rightful place as ruler of the Fire Nation!" Zhao said, this time releasing two fireballs and kicking Zuko's feet out from under him as he moved around the room. Although he was at a definite disadvantage, Zuko still found the breath to tell Admiral Zhao:

"You're crazy."

"You may call me crazy. But I do not take the words of a banished prince to my heart. I am an innovator. I am the face of progress! Do you not understand what I have done for this nation? I am _saving it_!"

"Our nation doesn't _need_ to be saved. If anything, we must save the Fire Nation from itself." Zhao snapped out of his reverie to glare at Zuko.

"You don't know what you're talking about, boy. In fact, you sound just like a certain uncle of yours. He won't realize what's coming to him, either."

"What have you done with uncle?"

"It shouldn't matter to you what happens to him, seeing as you'll meet him in the Spirit World soon enough, anyway." At these words, the fire not only burned in Zuko's eyes, but in his entire body. With a swift kick at the Admiral's legs, he threw Zhao to the ground, taking his turn to stand over him.

"_Never. Touch. My. Uncle._" the prince said, taking time to draw out every syllable, smoke billowing from his nostrils.

"Oh Zuko, Zuko. Always so melodramatic."

Zuko's only response was to throw a wave of fire at the Admiral, knocking him onto the rowboat still hanging outside. The combination of Zuko's firepower and Zhao's considerable bulk snapped the already-fraying ropes on either side of the boat, sending it teetering into the sea fifty feet below. Zuko moved before the flames even died out, grabbing Aang from a watery death. He didn't even look down as Admiral Zhao fell to his own death. He still had the Avatar, and he now knew what to do next. Finding his uncle was his first priority.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

When Sokka and Yue found Katara alone at the spirit oasis, they knew the worst had happened. Sokka slid off of Appa's saddle and placed a hand on his little sister's back as she knelt over the pool in the center of the oasis.

"Katara…where is Aang?" he asked her slowly, afraid of the answer.

"He…he…fought me and I lost. He took Aang away. I didn't see where. But he…they're both gone. I can't believe I lost him." She was halfway to hysterics by this point, so Sokka knelt down beside her.

"You did everything you could. And now we need to do everything we can to get him back. Zuko can't have gotten far. We'll find him. Aang's gonna be fine." Her brother reassured her, helping her to her feet.

"Okay."

Momo followed them slowly, looking back at the spirit oasis for perhaps the last time. Sokka couldn't tell if Momo understood loss at all, but it surely looked like he did now. He picked up Momo awkwardly, not sure if he was supposed to comfort the lemur or not. He patted him roughly on the head twice, saying "there, there" in a way that he hoped was consoling. Momo was indifferent.

Katara and Momo climbed back into Appa's saddle, while Sokka took the helm.

"Yip yip." Sokka said, his face determined. As they flew over the battle raging below, they could see that the waterbenders were in a bad way. The firebenders had the advantage of daylight, and their ground troops used that advantage well. They were now just yards away from the palace gates, burning everything in their paths and leaving a wake of smoking destruction. "This is bad. Really bad." Sokka remarked as they narrowly missed another fireball that was shot at them. Katara's eyes narrowed at him through her tears.

"You think? They've got Aang!" Yue tried unsuccessfully to calm her down.

"The sun will be down in a few hours. Then our tribe will have the advantage. We can surely find Aang by then." She glanced at Sokka for help.

"Uh, yeah, right! I'm sure the waterbenders can hold off until then." he reassured his sister.

"The firebenders are minutes away from the palace! After that it won't be long until they get to the spirit oasis…where _Aang's _spirit will be…" Katara stopped herself as not to break out into another round of tears.

"Now is not the time for doubts. First we will rescue Aang's body. Then we can worry about his soul." Yue said, her voice hardening.

"You're right." Katara said finally. The only sound after that was the sound of war below and silent dread above.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

"_Uncle! Uncle, where are you?_" The sound of Zuko's voice reverberated down the ship's walkways and throughout the entire ship. Zuko ran below decks, slamming in doors, scorching walls, calling for his uncle and basically making as much noise as humanly possible. He knew that he probably shouldn't be making this much noise if he wanted even the tiniest chance of keeping his survival a secret, but he didn't care about his safety anymore. All that he cared about was his uncle and the Avatar. And now that the Avatar was safely stowed away in a cell below decks, there was only one thing on his mind.

Which is why it surprised him when he kicked in a door to find General Iroh safe and sound with a cup of tea to his lips. Zuko lunged forward to slap the cup from his hands and onto the wall. The porcelain cup shattered against the wall, and Iroh finally looked up.

"Zuko! You are well!…And you've ruined a perfectly good cup of jasmine tea." Iroh remarked.

"Yes, well, it was probably poisoned. Zhao told me he was going to-"

"Zhao? When did you speak with the Admiral?"

"He…isn't the Admiral anymore." Zuko said, choosing his words carefully.

"You mean he is dead?"

"Yes." Zuko turned his gaze to the floor.

"He was a good soldier. He tried to do so much for our nation, even if he did it in his own way."

"You can you say that, uncle? He tried to _kill _me!" Zuko snapped, meeting his uncle's golden gaze.

"It is always wise to respect the dead." Iroh said solemnly. Then, with a smile, he added "Even if they do not always deserve it." After a moment of silence, Iroh asked the inevitable question: "How did he die?"

"I…well, he was attacking me…and threatening you…and I…"Zuko stared at his hands, the magnitude of what he had just done to another person finally dawned on him. He had been in such a fit of rage that he had actually _killed_ another man. No matter that he had been attacked first. That didn't make it right that he had just taken another life, and not felt any remorse until now. Could he live with the guilt? Knowing he was a murderer? There was no turning back now. "I killed him."

"Nephew-" Iroh began, but stopped when his saw the pained look on Zuko's face. He knew exactly how he felt. He had felt the same way many years ago, when he had first taken someone's life. He had felt many horrible things in his life, but he remembered that was one of the worst feelings he had ever had. Iroh stood up to level his gaze with his nephew's. "I know."

Zuko didn't reply. The relief in his face was enough for them both.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Katara was the first one off the saddle, jumping before Appa's feet even hit the ground. The fall jarred her slightly, but she quickly picked herself up and ran across the deck of the Admiral's ship.

"Katara, wait, you don't even know where you're going!" Sokka called after her, but she had already yanked the handle of the door that led below decks and disappeared into the darkness.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Yue reassured the worried brother shakily.

"I hope so. In any case, she's probably going in the right direction. They wouldn't keep Aang above decks where he could easily escape. Firebenders are stupid, but not _that _stupid."

"How stupid are we, then?" came a low, sandpapery voice that was about as pleasant as shooting yourself in the foot. Sokka and Yue turned slowly to see a very large, muscular man holding a very large, metal hammer. His eyes gleamed menacingly, his metal hammer gleamed menacingly, and even his shaved head gleamed menacingly. Despite all this, Sokka found it necessary to add a witty comeback.

"So stupid you have to _ask _how stupid you are." Yue gave him a look that translated roughly as 'what-are-you-doing-you-loveable-idiot-who-I'm-finding-very-hard-to-love-right-now.'

The man gave them a low growl that sounded even more terrible than his voice.

"Sokka, why in the world did you find it necessary to do that?" Yue asked him in a terrified whisper.

"Sorry," he whispered back, "reflex wit."

"Well, your 'reflex wit' is about to get us killed!"

"Hey! What're you two whispering about?" came the grating voice from below.

"I was just telling her…yip yip." said Sokka with the slightest hint of a smile.

"Why wouldja tell her tha- HEY!" the man cried as he was thrown over the side of the ship by a sudden gust of wind from Appa's takeoff. As they settled back down on the ground, Sokka slid down Appa's back onto the deck.

"Come on!" he said, calling for Yue.

"What? Where are we going?" she said, sliding onto the deck next to the warrior.

"Well, I can't let Katara go after Aang alone, and I can't just leave you here. I'm supposed to protect you, remember? So let's go!" Yue looked uncertain, and Momo peeked up inquisitively from Appa's saddle. He then flew down on Yue's shoulder, content to go wherever she went. Yue nodded in response, then followed Sokka into the dark underbelly of the ship.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

A/N: I will begin by apologizing briefly for the amount of pointless dialogue and exposition that goes on in this chapter. It will all pay off in the end, trust me. I really didn't expect it to be this long. And trust me, more of Bao's "fighting" will happen in later chapters, but I'm not so good at action scenes and generally try to get them over with as soon as possible. Any advice would be helpful, since this is my first fic here. So, as usual, read and review! And happy belated thanksgiving!


	2. Downfall

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Blah, blah, on to the fic!

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

He would return to the Fire Nation as a hero. He had captured the Avatar. Soon he would have the Northern Water Tribe as well, thanks to his uncle's legendary military direction. The failures of both himself and his uncle would be forgotten in their victories.

He would have his honor back.

But somehow, Zuko could not shake the suspicion that something would go wrong. Murphy's law seemed to follow the prince everywhere, every small success followed by failure. His paranoia was understandable, being exiled from his home country on a fool's errand for the better part of three years now. Zuko understood what he was getting himself into, but he just couldn't fight the nagging suspicions that something was going to go horribly wrong.

His suspicions were proved correct when he visited Aang's cell. The lock had been slashed open with what seemed to be an incredibly strong razor, and what was left of the lock was dripping wet. The Avatar couldn't have escaped alone, as he had been in that glowy-comatose-meditative state when Zuko had left him. He must have had help, and Zuko knew it could only be one person. The waterbender girl, the one with that stupid blue necklace, the girl who he had recently defeated to take the Avatar. He knew she had found a master, but he had assumed she wasn't powerful enough to cut through solid steel.

With a roar, he melted the lock in frustration. She may have gotten away from him, but there wasn't enough time for her to have escaped the ship. There was still a chance he could find her. And end her.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The only thing lighting the walkways in the ship was the glow from Aang's arrows. Despite their brightness, Katara found herself tripping almost every five steps. The tears lingering on the corners of the waterbender's eyes only made the dimly-lit journey more difficult. She wasn't sure why she was crying anymore, as she had Aang back. Well, his body at least. And Katara was certain the Avatar spirit would soon follow. But seeing him like this, dead weight in her arms, she couldn't help but wonder: What would happen if the Fire Nation reached the oasis before them? She shuddered at the thought, and trudged forward.

As Katara dragged his body down the dark hallway as quickly and gently as she possibly could, she couldn't help but wonder one last thing: Weren't airbenders supposed to be lighter than air?

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

"It's too dark down here, Sokka. I can't see a thing." Yue remarked not twenty feet into the dark passageway.

"Um…" was Sokka's only reply. He didn't admit it, but she was absolutely right. How far had Katara gotten in this pitch-black walkway anyway? How was she supposed to find Aang? And how was he supposed to find _her_? This 'plan' was getting stupider every second.

As if on cue, Sokka saw the firelight of a torch a few yards ahead. The twisting hallway had hidden it, and the placement of torches was erratic at best. Some of the hallways were dimly lit and others loomed in complete blackness. Sokka figured firebenders probably had no need for torches as they could make their own firelight anyway. It was _extremely_ annoying for anyone else, however. Sokka grabbed the first torch off of the wall and held it high in front of him.

"Okay, well, solves that first problem. Now, knowing my sister, she probably just ran straight until she found Aang. She's not very logical like that. So I guess if we have any chance of finding her, it'll be straight ahead." Sokka said, pointing toward the middle section of a fork in the hallway in front of the small group.

"And with any luck, the Avatar will be there as well." Yue replied, stepping forward.

"Don't count on it. Katara is prone to dumb luck, but no one can be that-" He was cut off by a panicking Katara barreling out from the left hallway, dragging Aang along after her. "…Forget I said anything." Sokka finished, just as a fireball came rippling through the passageway, superheating the confined space in a second.

"Zuko's-after-me-run-_NOW_!" Katara yelled at her brother without pausing for breath. Sokka grabbed Aang from his sister's tired arms, slinging the boy over his shoulders without a second thought. Katara normally would have objected to the rough treatment, but this was no time to stop and argue. Momo, perched backwards on Yue's shoulder, saw the second fireball coming first, and frantically flapped his arms to alert the princess.

"What is it, Mo- _DUCK_!" Yue said a split second before the fireball exploded against the wall next to her. The rest of the group obliged without question. That time, the fire came dangerously close to Katara's head, singeing her hair loopies. She stopped abruptly and turned to face their tormentor, letting Sokka and Yue run past her. Sokka looked back at her, but only for a second. He and Yue ran forward and out onto the deck above, leaving Katara alone with the crown prince. He stopped as well, about fifteen feet away from Katara and the exit.

"Give me the Avatar and I won't kill you." He snarled, rage burning in his eyes and fire burning in his hands.

"Zuko, please, don't do this." Katara pleaded.

"Why? So you can all go off on a merry little adventure while I live in exile for the rest of my life? Is that it?"

"It's not like that-"

"Of course it is. Do you know what the Avatar means to me? How he has tormented my thoughts for the past three years? How bringing him back could change my life forever? You could never understand." Katara paused for a moment.

"You're right. I don't understand. But not everyone deserves happiness, Zuko." She said as she froze both his hands to the wall with a swift movement of the water from the pouch at her side. Katara bolted for the door, not sure whether she was feeling remorse or anger. Either way, it bubbled up from inside her like a hot geyser.

As Zuko unfroze his hands with a quick breath of fire he added to no one in particular: "And I know that better than anyone."

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

When Appa finally arrived at the spirit oasis, it was almost dusk. The Fire Nation foot soldiers were now just fighting their way through the palace, so they still had time to return Aang's spirit to his body. Just not that _much_ time. Katara cradled his head as she brought him to the edge of the water, the place where he had meditated before. She waited a few long seconds, but nothing seemed to change. His arrows didn't stop glowing, nor was their any sign that he was returning to his own self again. And to make matters worse, Katara could clearly see smoke leaking over the wall that led into the oasis. They were almost here, and the Avatar spirit was nowhere to be found.

"Aang! Aang, if you can hear me, please come back here! We need you!" she yelled, standing and turning to call in every direction. Then, as she faced his body again, she hesitated and whispered "_I…I need you._"

"I don't think he can hear you, Katara." Sokka said softly after a long silence. Yue, who had looked on silently until this point added, almost to herself:

"Then there's no hope left."

"No," was all the waterbender could say as she fell to her knees, "there's always been something. I just can't see where it is right now."

They were all so preoccupied with their own thoughts that they almost didn't notice as the wall into the spirit oasis began to melt.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

But what they didn't know was that Sokka had been wrong. Aang's spirit could, in fact, hear every word of their conversation and see it as well, he just wasn't sure of what he could do about it. Being so relatively new to the whole 'Avatar' thing, he didn't have very much control on what he did in the Spirit World. And, as a result, he had no idea how to get back into his body.

He had completed his mission. He now knew that the earthly manifestations of Tui and La had been in front of him the whole time, quite literally. Even so, it felt kind of strange to be asking a couple of koi fish for help.

"Um, excuse me, spirits? I'm sorry to interrupt your…uh…swimming, but I'm Aang…and I'm the Avatar. And I kind of need help getting back to my body before it gets fried by firebenders. So, if you could give me some magic spirit insight, that would really help me out right now. Please?"

The fish gave him no reply, and as he watched them swim and twist around each other, he found it was almost hypnotic. He suddenly felt that he had to look at the wall that separated the spirit oasis from the rest of the palace and the cold, outside world. He saw the smoke and steam mixing together about it, and the giant hole steadily growing in the middle of it.

"Oh no." Aang breathed.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

As Katara held Aang in her arms, she suddenly felt a small pull on him, like a string tied above him was hoisting him up above her arms. She looked up, but all she could see was a smoky gray sky. She held Aang tighter but the pull quickly got stronger and yanked him up into the air. Katara realized what was happening and cautiously stepped back as Aang rose into the air, arrow tattoos still glowing brightly. Yue only looked up at him in awe.

"What is he doing?" she asked, dumbstruck. Sokka pulled on a sleeve of her parka, gently towing her back towards his sister.

"Uh, princess, you may want to stand clear for this." He warned her. She obliged, still staring at the small airbender hanging overhead. With a slow wave of his hand, he pushed the wall of ice back several feet, and created a new one that reached almost to the tops of the cliff walls on either side of the neck of the oasis. That done, the Avatar addressed the firebenders just behind his newly-created wall of ice.

"You will not enter this place. It is sacred and will not be entered by your kind. I am the Avatar and I will not let you disturb the sanctity of this oasis." His voice was impressive. If you listened closely, you could clearly hear Aang's voice, but his voice was laced with the many voices of each of his past lives, booming out and reverberating throughout the entire North Pole. You would think that a voice that powerful would be deafening to a person standing close by, but for some inexplicable reason the voice sounded the same to every person intended to hear it.

Most of the Fire Nation soldiers were quaking in their red and black boots by this point, but they were told to stand their ground. This was all a matter of patience. The Avatar and his friends would have to come out sometime. And when they did, the fire catapults would be waiting.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Zuko was off the Admiral's ship almost the second the long walkway hit the ice. He felt more confident now that he was riding a black rhino, with his uncle close behind. He urged the beast forward with a flick of the reigns, getting more excited with each crunch of the icy ground under the rhino's massive feet. Outwardly, of course, he showed nothing but his usual frosty demeanor.

"Quickly, uncle. The Avatar is still inside the oasis. Our troops will hold him there for now, but it's only a matter of time until he eludes their grasp yet again. If we want them to do this right, we have to do it ourselves." Zuko said as they entered the ruined remains of what had been the palace gates. Iroh waited a few seconds before speaking.

"Remember, nephew, that the Avatar must be captured alive. I wouldn't want you to be so enthusiastic about this hunt that you lose your prize for another decade. Just…be careful." He concluded.

"I didn't get this far by being careful." The prince snarled, riding ever-faster forward.

"That's what I was worried about." The old general shook his head, and followed his nephew to the great wall of ice and the promises it contained.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Aang's tattoos glowed fainter until his feet touched the ground, where the arrows resumed their usual pale blue coloring. Katara was waiting to catch him, as always, and he gazed up into her eyes.

"You're back." She said simply, a smile bringing relief back into her face. "I almost thought you'd never come back to us."

"Yeah." He replied, not having the strength to say much else. He let his head drop onto her chest, and she kept him warm as she climbed back on Appa's saddle. Sokka felt that the moment was_ far_ too romantic, and decided to break it up in his usual awkward way.

"_Weeeelll_…Looks like Aang's soul is back in place, so it's time we got a move on out of here." Sokka helped Yue up beside him on the saddle, taking the reigns as he went. Momo perched on Yue's shoulder again, having obviously taken a liking to her. "Hang on to your hats, kids, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. Yip yip."

With that, the group soared up into the air and saw the full extent of what they were dealing with. Foot soldiers stretched from the ice wall to the palace gates, and behind them were five massive steel catapults, each attached to a team of four rhinos. Not only that, but the catapult could be turned on a moment's notice with a series of levers and spinning gears. And each of them was focused on Appa.

"Oh my." said Yue, a hand to her lips.

"Oh no." breathed Katara, sheltering Aang even more with her body as she leaned over to look at the scene.

"Oh crap." said Sokka, knowing he couldn't turn back now. The firing squad attacked, and Sokka swerved Appa out of the way of at least ten fireballs. He had cut it close, and the back end of the saddle, along with many of their supplies, went up in flames. Katara put the fire out as fast as she could, but the unseen-but-definitely-felt flames spooked Appa, and his flying became erratic.

Below them, Zuko finally reached the catapults. He shooed away the technician who steered the metallic monster, and took the controls for himself. Instinctively pulling down on the lever to his right, the fire ball swung wide, completely missing the group. Cursing, he tried again, finally hitting one of Appa's six legs and sending him spinning toward the ground. General Iroh rushed in from behind, grabbing the jubilant prince by a shoulder.

"You could have killed him!" the general said angrily.

"This is no time for a lecture, uncle! I did what I had to do and you can't tell me that I was wrong! You can't tell me what to do anymore!" With a grunt, he shook off his uncle's hand and ran toward the place where he had felled the Avatar.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Aang was not dead. As he was surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers, however, he wondered if that was actually a good thing. He lay as still as he could, eyes clenched shut. Maybe if he acted dead, they would give up on him and go away. Yeah, and maybe magic hog-monkeys would teach him waterbending. He wished he could open his eyes and see if Katara was all right. Of course, he was worried about the others as well, but Katara was the first name that he thought of.

"He's still alive." Said a sickeningly familiar voice. "You can stop playing dead, Avatar. We have you now." Aang refused to open his eyes even as he was shackled and chained into a rhino-led wagon headed for the ships. He only opened his eyes when he heard a soldier ask:

"What do we do with the others, Prince Zuko?"

"Lock them up away from the Avatar. We can't have them plotting another jailbreak."

"And the flying bison, sir?" Asked the soldier. The second voice, Zuko's obviously, did not answer immediately.

"We will discuss this elsewhere," he said finally, and Aang could hear the sounds of their boots crunching away through the snow. Aang still didn't know where Appa and the others would be held, but he knew at least they were still alive and relatively intact. That counted for something. His head drooped to his chest in sudden exhaustion. Who knew being shot out of the sky took so much out of you? His eyes closed, but Aang felt relatively sure he would live to open them another day.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Everything _hurt_.

Katara began to realize this fact little by little as she came back into a fuzzy sort of consciousness. The waterbender tried to recall what could possibly have happened to her to make her sore everywhere from her feet to the crown of her head. It came back to her in fragmented pieces. They had been shot down by something. A fireball. Launched by the Fire Nation. Launched by…Prince Zuko. Yes, yes, this remembering was good. Her vision was steadily becoming clearer, as were her muddled memories. Now what had happened next? Oh, right, she had tried to protect Aang as they fell. She realized it probably had been a bad idea to lock her body position as she fell to the ground, but there was little she could do about it now.

She internally palmed her forehead, as doing it in reality would be more trouble that it was worth. Of course there was something she could do to ease her pain. She was a _healer_, wasn't she?

The waterbender quickly realized two problems with that plan. The first being the fact that her water pouch was mysteriously missing, and the second being that her hands were chained to a wall.

"Hey, look who's finally awake," came her brother's voice. Katara looked around shakily.

"Wh…where are we?" she asked.

"If you have to ask, you don't want to know," he replied, looking dismally around the cell that contained them both.

Katara groaned as she tried to get into a better sitting position. "You're right," she told her brother "I didn't want to know." As she spoke, she noticed someone was missing. "Wait, where's Yue?"

"I don't know." The warrior replied dismally. "They took her away." He couldn't bring himself to look at her, and so the siblings sat in silence.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Zuko sat back in the red overstuffed chair that had been at the head of the previous Admiral's quarters of the ship. It suited him, he thought. This was the room of an important man, or at least a man who thought himself important. And when Zuko returned to the Fire Nation with the Avatar and the Northern Water Tribe in his grasp, he _would_ be an important man. Zuko was now much more confidant in his plan. With the Avatar now safely in chains with no one to save him, the crown prince could enact the second part of the plan. And it would hinge on the participation of a certain Water princess…

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

A/N: I apologize for this chapter being so…KatAangy. I really didn't mean for it to be that way, but since that's really one of the only canon pairings at the moment, it's what I ended up writing. Ah well. Read and review!


	3. A Betrothal, or a Betrayal?

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. 'Cause if I did, Yue would not be the frigging moon spirit and I wouldn't have to muck around with this AU thing.

A/N: Thanks SO MUCH for the reviews! They're really the only reason I'm still going with this (well, that, and the fact that I've sort of gotten my mom into the show. Haven't actually gotten her to WATCH an episode, but soon she will be on our side! Muahaha!). But most of all, I would like to thank my friends for reading this! And of course a special thanks to _Snarky - I like it_ for giving me the lengthiest review I've ever seen, even thought she hyper-extended her thumb and I don't think she's ever sat through an entire episode of Avatar. I didn't miss anybody, did I? Good. On to the fic!

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The first surprise was that she was not dead. It came with a pretty instinctive thought of relief, despite the fact that she was a prisoner of the Fire Nation along with whatever family and tribe members that were still alive after the siege of the north. The second came some time later, after she had been led to the admiral's quarters in the underbelly of his ship. In the admiral's chair sat the fire prince, Zuko. From what little things she knew about Admiral Zhao, she knew he would not give up his seat willingly. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she wondered what Zuko could have possibly done to earn the right to sit in that tacky, red, overstuffed chair, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she inclined her head courteously.

She would have given anything to spit in his eye.

The third surprise was when the crown prince made a small motion with his hands, and her shackles were taken off by the servants who had led her. She tried her best not to show her relief as the tight metal bands were taken off. A quick glance at her hands showed that two identical lines showed bright red against each tanned wrist. She still said nothing, but her confusion showed obviously across her face.

"Princess Yue." Said the fire prince, almost conversationally.

"Prince Zuko." Yue replied, not knowing where he was going with this. Zuko stared at her a few seconds before continuing. She looked down, as his strong, yet curious gaze seemed to bore into her skin.

"There's something you should see." He said suddenly, drawing her attention to the papers he thrust at her.

She looked at them cautiously. Across the top of the first page were the words "Casualty List." Yue tried to suppress a gasp, and tried to pry her eyes away. She failed on both accounts. There were three categories: Dead, Wounded, and Missing in Action. Her eyes scrolled down the page with almost clinical detachment, and she knew that her tears would have to come later. One name under the "Dead" column was highlighted in red. She knew the character for his name all too well; as it was carved into the back of the necklace she had worn everyday now for almost a year. Hahn. Her now ex-fiancé.

"Why are you showing me this?" she said in a whisper, sliding the papers back on his desk, face down.

"He died fighting, if that's any comfort," Zuko continued, ignoring her question. "He attempted to infiltrate our ships, and to assassinate my uncle and the former admiral. He…well, fell off the ship's railing and died of hypothermia a few minutes later." Zuko hid a grin. It was pretty funny actually, how Hahn had tried to single-handedly take down two of the most powerful firebenders in the world and ended up simply falling off the ship on his own accord. But he couldn't tell _her_ that. She already thought he was a coldhearted, insensitive ass, so what good would it do to drive the point in deeper?

"What do you want from me?" she asked, this time loud enough so that he couldn't pretend not to hear her.

"If there was a way we could end this fighting between your tribe and my army, without any bloodshed at all, would you accept it, no matter the cost?" He asked her, sidestepping his way around her question again.

"…Would the prisoners of my tribe be set free?" she asked.

"Yes. They will not be touched." He assured her. Yue looked him in both eyes, even his scarred one. She found the truth there.

"I would." She responded, setting her jaw and tilting her head up slightly. Zuko looked relieved at her answer, but only slightly.

"Even if it meant you had to marry me?" he asked slowly, mentally gauging her reaction. Yue stopped, to look him in the eyes again. He was completely serious, and there was something else there too, an emotion Yue didn't want to think existed in a monster like him. It was an emotion she had noticed almost immediately in the eyes of the boy from the Southern Water Tribe just a week ago. Was the crown prince…falling for her?

"I…I will think about it." She said finally, turning her head to leave the room with at least her dignity intact. She'd had enough surprises for one day.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

A few hours later, Princess Yue walked down the silent hallway, deep in her own thoughts. She was ashamed of what she had just done, and undeniably nervous about what she had to do. Finally reaching the door she wanted, she looked through the barred window and at the two lonely figures inside.

When Sokka saw Yue for the first time, he thought she looked like an angel. This time, with the moonlight glinting off her white hair like a halo, that observation seemed even more appropriate. He wanted to run up to her, to touch her hair and breathe her moonlit essence in, but he was still chained to the wall, and his shackles cut into his wrists and made him wince.

"Yue? What happened? I'm…not just dreaming again, am I?" his voice sounded rusty and tired from disuse. When the princess heard his voice again, tears welled up in her eyes for the first time in days.

"You're not dreaming. Although, I just wish it was a dream so I could wake up and get over this nightmare. So I could be with you again."

"Whadd'ya mean? I'm right here!"

"You're chained to a wall in a prison cell!"

"No, really, I gathered that." He gave her a small smile, to assure her that his sarcasm wasn't meant to offend her. Yue offered in return a sad laugh, which abruptly broke into a sob. Worry flashed across the warrior's face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said after a moment, "it's just…I'm engaged and-"

"Yeah, I know. Hahn." Sokka spat out his name in disgust.

"No. He died yesterday." She wept, and Sokka could see guilt written all over her face.

"What?"

"I'm engaged to Prince Zuko." Yue replied. Her voice was barely a whisper, but Sokka heard her voice as clear as day. Those few words hit him harder than anything he had ever encountered. He looked away from the love of his life, and at his sister, still asleep in her corner. He debated on whether or not he should tell her the news. Katara would probably hear about the engagement soon enough, anyway. He wondered what she would say. And above all, he hoped his little sister would never have to feel the way he was feeling right now.

"You should go." He told Yue, refusing to look at her, but not for the reason she thought. If he brought his eyes to hers right now, it would send the carefully built warrior façade he had been cultivating his whole life crumbling to his feet. She left. After all, what could she say to him that would matter now?

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The ship finally hit land again a week later. Little had happened in that time, as everyone except the soldiers and the sailors had been keeping to themselves, and even they were more withdrawn in their own ways.

Katara had split her week between worrying about things and sleeping off her pain. She slept to combat her worries, and she worried to combat her restless sleep. Neither worked. She would always begin her worrying with Aang. She wondered if she had kept him alive, and whether he was okay. And to add to that worry, she worried about whether he was worrying about her too. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much, but it did, and Aang's face became a prominent part of her nightmares. Also, she worried about Sokka. As she looked at her brother's face, she realized something in him was broken. The first day they had been imprisoned, he had been upbeat enough about the whole situation (_definitely_ a new thing for him), proposing escape plans and making very crude jokes about Prince Zuko. But after that first night, he had changed before her eyes. He wouldn't say more than one word sentences and grunts whenever she had tried to coax a conversation out of him. So Katara worried, and slept, and waited.

Sokka had been in a general state of dismal, brokenhearted, gloom for his part of the week. He realized, after some thought, that it was probably a good thing for Princess Yue to marry Prince Zuko. It would serve as a peace treaty between their nations, and at least a small part of the war would be at an end. He also realized that since Yue was going to be married anyway, it shouldn't really matter to him who she was getting married _to_. But it did, of course, and the thought of such a monster marrying the love of his life put clouds over any bright side there could possibly be to this situation. Hahn was an egotistical jerk, sure, but his nation hadn't declared war on his and taken both of his parents away. And in his eyes, that made Zuko _unacceptable_. But now, all the warrior could do was accept it.

Yue had listlessly walked the perimeter of the deck in a state of disbelief for most of the week. It had all happened so fast to her, the attack, the invasion, the capture, and now her betrothal. Yue had heard from someone years ago that engagements were supposed to be happy affairs. But she had given her heart for her country, twice. And both times it felt like she was breaking in two. And as she saw the Fire Nation, her new home, on the horizon, she had not wept for her old life and her breaking heart. Her tears seemed to have dried up for good.

Zuko had been sulking for the week, alone in the former admiral's quarters. This had become a general state in which he found himself, but now the silence seemed more oppressive, somehow. He normally found silence calming. In the quiet, no one was challenging him, or trying to change him, or expecting anything from him. Zuko could be himself, even if that meant being a moody, sulking, teenager. This silence was…different. It pressed down on him from all sides, as if urging him to go somewhere. Zuko just didn't have a clue as to _where_ he was supposed to go. He just wanted to be alone in the comforting silence that had once held him steady, but at the same time he just wanted to talk to someone. He had gone on the occasional above deck outing, but his uncle's constant questioning did not comfort him in the least. It only served to make him more anxious. And so, when the admiral's ship pulled into port to the festivities and cheering Zuko had always dreamed would await his return, he didn't just walk off the ship. He _flew_.

Aang had spent the past week staring out of the miniscule barred window a good ten feet above his head at the sky that only showed variations on gray and black. And as he gazed, he berated himself for his failure. What was the good of being the Avatar when you didn't make a difference? What was the good of being the Avatar if you couldn't save the ones you love? He had spent a whole week on these questions, and even as he was being led in chains though the Fire Nation streets, he could not think of a single answer.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The date had been set, and it hung over the soon-to-be-couple like a death sentence. Each second that ticked away was a second closer to married life. Despite the fact that it was his idea, Zuko did not want to be married. He had been punished by his father in the harshest way possible all those years ago by showing mercy for his troops. Now it was that same brand of mercy that had him betrothed to a water tribe princess. He just wanted the fighting to stop, and at the time, a wedding seemed like the best way to stop it. Now, he was sure he must have been insane at the time. The worst thing about the whole situation was that he really thought he was falling in love with her. Normally, it would be a good thing to be in love with his fiancée, but now it just complicated things. He knew, without a doubt, that she despised him. She made it a point to treat him in the harshest manner she possibly could, every time they met. He had to say, she had a point. Zuko was not particularly proud of any of the decisions he had made in the past few weeks, and this wedding was probably one of his worst.

He decided, then, that he would make it up to her.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

One month. That was all the time she had left before she would be married to the crown prince of the Fire Nation. Yue told herself, over and over again, to just keep a straight face and accept what was to come. It was the only way, she reminded herself. If she hadn't agreed to marry the fire prince, his troops would have destroyed everything she knew and loved. Sometimes it felt like she loved her people more than she loved herself. It was certainly more than she loved _him_. She had made it a point, from day one, to show her future husband how much she despised him. She hadn't spoken three words to him since their betrothal, and whenever she looked at him, she made sure her eyes cut into his skin like knives. But every time she showed him another cruel gesture, in her mind she could see in sharp clarity the pain in his eyes.

She was not ashamed. Just more and more confused.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Yue was just getting dressed one morning (with the completely unnecessary help of at least five servants) when a messenger knocked on her door and told her the crown prince wanted an audience with her. She politely declined, but the messenger even more politely insisted. Yue finally relented, and followed him to the royal gardens where her fiancé awaited her arrival.

He was smiling. This was new.

"I want to give you something," he told her before she could even speak. He shooed off the servants and gardeners who milled around them, knowing full well they would be watching them anyway through the shrubbery. From out of his pocket he pulled something new to her and yet far too familiar: a betrothal necklace. In traditional Water Tribe fashion, it was a carved blue stone on a blue leather band. But this necklace was different from any she had ever seen. In the center was a carving of a stylized flame, set with gold and ruby-colored stones that made it flicker in the midday sunlight.

"It's beautiful. Like nothing I've ever seen," she said, fingering the design in amazement.

"Just like you," replied the prince, his awkward smile broadening.

"How in the world did you make this?" Yue asked. Zuko's smile dimmed as soon as it appeared.

"What? I didn't make this. I had the royal jewelers carve it, just for you."

"Then I can't accept it." She put her soft hands around his rough ones, curling the necklace back around his fingers. "I appreciate the gesture, and the necklace is exquisite, but it's customary to have the husband-to-be carve the necklace on his own. I'm sorry." They stood there for a full minute, neither one daring to meet the other's eyes. Finally Yue could bear the silence no longer. In an impulsive move, she left a small quick, kiss on his cheek and walked away to god-knows-where.

Zuko stared. He rubbed his hand to his cheek; as if rubbing it would make the tingling memory of the kiss go away. So that was it. If he loved her and she loved him back, did that make everything all better? He felt like it should, but somehow, he didn't think so. Could Princess Yue really have forgiven him that easily? Zuko didn't know. He needed quiet.

As the prince left, the gardeners hastened to put out the bit of greenery he had set on fire.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Yue sat in her new room. Everything, she decided, was too big. The bed could fit at least five people in it, and she woke up every morning drowning in sheets. The ornately covered walls of the room reached at least fifteen feet over her head. If she hadn't already seen them, she'd think the people in the Fire Nations were giants. Of course, she was used to large palaces, but most of the rooms in the water palace had been small, to conserve warmth. The largest room was the throne room and assembly hall, and she spent as little time as possible there.

The polite knock on her door rang and echoed around the giant room.

"May I come in?" The voice following the knock was just as polite, meaning its owner could be only one person.

"Come in, General Iroh," she told him.

"Feel free to call me 'Uncle.' It suits me better." He said as he walked over to the princess and sat on the bed next to her. She laughed a little, not quite enough to truly be called 'laughter.'

"Alright, Uncle."

"There. Much better." With Iroh sitting next to her, the silence was not really awkward, merely an introspective quiet. "You are not happy here," he noted after a while.

"No."

"And why is that?"

"My home has been destroyed. I've lost everyone I loved. I'm getting married off for politics. How could I possibly be happy here?"

"You have given your happiness for the safety of the ones you love. An honorable choice, although not always a wise one." Iroh stroked his short bead in thought. Yue was confused.

"How so?"

"Your own happiness is one of the greatest gifts your life has to offer you. It is wise to use it to its full extent." Yue still didn't quite get it, but she nodded reluctantly. The conversation lapsed into quiet again. Iroh waited, and then spoke. "You need a vacation."

"I'm getting married in a month. I can't leave now."

"Of course you can. You have not yet seen the world! There are majestic Earth Kingdom cities, and Air Temples that spiral into the clouds until you cannot see the end of them!" He leaned back, lost in memories. "You should start with Gaoling. I know a family there that would take a beautiful, intelligent girl like you into their home without a worry. The Beifong family. Go there for a few days, get some rest, and see the world. You will be a better person for it. And when you are ready, you can return here for your marriage."

"That…does sound nice, actually." She replied, cataloging the information for later. This would be the perfect escape for her. She would rest up for a few days, think about things, and maybe even see the world like Iroh suggested. Who knows? Maybe this Beifong family would be just the breath of fresh air she needed. "Thank you, Uncle. You've been a great help," she told him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"You are most welcome, Niece."

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

When Yue left the Fire Nation a few days later, she didn't once look back.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

A/N: Apologies for the week-long delay. I'll probably have more to post on weekends than on the weekdays because of school and all. Read and review!


	4. Behold, the Runaway Bride

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, but in the grand scheme of things, do we as humans really own anything? (Don't answer that)

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Princess Yue's wonder and fascination with the Fire Nation ferry she was riding in ended approximately twenty-seven minutes after she boarded it.

Minute one: She had admired the sleek shine of the gray steel walls of the ferry, and how they were shined until they shone almost silver. This was the homeland, after all, and the Fire Nation tried to show off it's wealth in every way possible. Even if that meant doing silly things like shining up ships as the port towns decayed around them. She had also been delighted by the courteous attendants that greeted her as she stepped on board.

Minute three: The "courteous attendants" were less delighted when Yue boarded with no passport of any sort. Since thus far her stay in the Fire Nation had only included her staying in the fire lord's palace, no one had foreseen the need for her to have a passport. She tried to explain this to them, but seeing as she had been such a well-kept secret---no one believed her. The princess was stowed away into third class.

Minute fifteen: Still, no worries. The third class quarters were well-kept, and she had never seen more…colorful people in her life. _This will be a learning experience_, she told herself, _might as well get to know the subjects you may one day rule_.

Minute twenty-one: The old man sitting on the wooden bench next to her was very frightening indeed. He was thin with age, and his knobby hands tried to grasp themselves around a pipe. His smile ran across his withered face like a broken-toothed skid, even when he went through three separate bouts of coughing. His eyes, however, unnerved Yue the most. They kept drifting down lower on her body, until they finally rested at a place that she didn't think old men should be resting their eyes on.

"Y'er a pretty one, y'er. Got yerself some nice hair ther'. Nedder seen hair like dat on a youngun' wit' the looks o' you," the man told her, his eyes still gazing at the inappropriate place.

"Oh…thank you sir…" Yue replied. She tried her best to get away from him, but in the cramped third class section, there was nowhere to get away to. She sat back, trying her best to turn away from him and look out on the sea. She would only have to endure this one day, she told herself. Then she would have the vacation of a lifetime.

Minute twenty-seven: Yue wasn't sure if it was the smell of the pipe the old man next to her was smoking, or the sickly damp smell of sweat that overpowered even the smell of the sea, or seasickness, or maybe all three that made her throw up over the railing of the ferry. Whatever it was, the ferry would have to be shined again.

This was no way for a princess to travel.

And it was certainly no way for her "vacation of a lifetime" to begin.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Minute one thousand, five hundred and eighty-three: Yue, having lived her whole life in a city made of ice, was not well acquainted with dry land. That being said, after her most recent sea voyage she was willing to fall to her knees and kiss the dirt. The ferry had finally landed in the port city of Sholing.

The city itself looked to be happily thriving, with merchants every five feet, various sailors and deckhands busying themselves with rigging (not to mention shining) the various ships and ferries that were constantly milling about in the harbor. The whole scene looked innocuous enough, but underneath lurked something far more sinister. Despite being on the Earth Kingdom mainland, this was obviously a secured Fire Nation trade colony. When Yue looked closer, she could see soldiers in Fire Nation regalia making their rounds of the port. One of them in particular looked important enough, strutting around with his chest puffed out and holding the paper in his hands like it was a message from God.

The soldier reverently tacked up the paper to a notice board outside one of the shops and strutted away again. Yue curiously walked up to the notice board, keeping her head down as not to collide with anyone. When she looked up again, she found her own face staring sweetly back at her. With trembling hands, she ripped the poster from the board and sat down on a step over to the side of a fish vendor. She was so shocked she didn't even notice the smell.

"Wanted by order of the Fire Lord: Princess Yue, the runaway bride. She has committed the crimes of evading Fire Nation capture and for possible plotting against the Fire Lord. She was last seen on a ferry headed toward the Fire Nation colony of Sholing." The message ended with the official seal of the Fire Lord. Yue mouthed the words on the paper with out saying them aloud, too shocked to speak. News traveled, apparently, very quickly in the Fire Nation.

Yue realized now that it was probably a bad idea not to tell anybody but Uncle Iroh about her little vacation, but she hadn't wanted guards hanging around her every second and shadowing her every move. And now because of her stubbornness, she was a wanted fugitive. She folded the poster and slipped it into her pocket. She knew her wanted poster wouldn't stay down for long, so she had to work fast.

Yue sucked in a breath and gravitated toward the vendor selling hair dye.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

He'd only had to keep her one month. One month and one day, just long enough to create peace between their nations. Wasn't that what she had wanted? Hadn't he provided her anything she _could have_ wanted? So why had she chosen to run away from him now? He had given her his trust and in return she had taken _everything _from him.

"Good afternoon, Nephew," called a jovial voice that expressed the exact opposite of what it felt.

Zuko grunted in response. As charming as ever.

"So…care to tell me about this 'runaway bride' I have heard so much about?" Iroh asked conversationally, waving out a wanted poster just enough to catch his nephew's attention. Zuko casually pretended to ignore it, facing the other direction.

"No, I don't want to talk about it." He said irritably. Although the crown prince couldn't see it, his uncle looked disappointed.

"You blame yourself, don't you?" the old general remarked finally. Although it wasn't really a question, Zuko answered him.

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to. Your guilt is obvious, and frankly, it's understandable-"

"You can't pretend to understand how I feel right now! I'm facing a wedding without a wife! How could you possibly know how that feels?"

Iroh truly wanted to tell his nephew about Yue's "vacation of a lifetime," and to tell him that she was fine and would soon be in the care of a loving and well-protected Earth Kingdom family. But the princess had him swear never to tell _anyone _about her little getaway, lest they send guard to watch her. And Iroh could never break a promise, especially not to such a beautiful young lady.

"I assure you the princess will return before the month is up," Iroh reassured his nephew.

"For her sake, I hope you're right," Zuko replied, then walked away in silence.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Looking at her reflection in the dirty shard of a mirror she had found, Yue realized that she didn't look half bad in disguise. Her hair, now dyed a deep brown, had been cut with a newly-acquired knife and pulled up into a traditional Earth Kingdom fashion. Her new green and tan clothes, made of cheap fabric mass-produced by the war, fit her well enough, but would have been far more comfortable without the itchy collar. She reflected (literally) about how just a simple change of clothes and hair could make you seem like a different person.

Well, maybe she _was_ a different person.

She was no longer the kind Water Tribe princess, content to do as her father commanded. She could think for herself, and she realized that now. Not only that, but now she had the threat of a wedding hanging over her head. And this time, she would not be content to just sit by and watch her life go by. For the next month, she was content to be her own woman. Never in her life had Yue felt so…_free_.

She reminded herself that she would only be away for a month, not forever. She had to return to the Fire Nation to be married to Prince Zuko. It was her duty. But as she held that thought in her mind, another though occurred to her: what if she didn't go back? What if she stayed in the Earth Kingdom, made a life for herself, free to marry for love instead of duty?

Yue quickly shook the thought out of her head. This vacation was getting to her. She had to focus on something else.

A map. She would need a map of the Earth Kingdom if she wanted to have any chance of finding the Beifong estate, or Gaoling for that matter. She carefully wrapped up her 'mirror' in a piece of dark green cloth and tucked it into her front shirt pocket. She made sure that it wouldn't cut into her if she fell or turned the wrong way. Yue was now looked, essentially, ready.

As she walked back into the Sholing streets, she was soon sucked into the crowd as if by a magnetic pull. She was one of them, now.

Yue finally got a break at a stand with a kindly old man selling cabbages. She bought one with a little money she had brought with her, money that had been stolen from the Fire Lord's palace. Anyway; Yue had reasoned at the time, that money would rightfully be hers in a month, when she married into that family, so why not take some a little early? Plus, the Fire Lord had so much money that he probably wouldn't notice a bit of his fortune missing for one month. (He hadn't. Azula, however, was beginning to suspect something, but that isn't relevant at the moment). Seeing as this was a Fire Nation colony, her money wasn't given a second look.

Her next stop was a store filled with maps and dust. Yue could still make out the framed maps on the walls through the dust and dim light. They seemed to be very old, many of them sporting yellowed paper and tattered edges. They were interesting, but not what she was looking for. For this she made her way to the counter, having to push aside a box or two on her way there. The store was not very well-kept, seeing as the teenaged boy who was supposed to be cleaning it and watching the store was asleep in a chair behind the counter. Yue tentatively reached out a finger to tap him awake when a man burst into the room from a small door behind the counter.

"Ban? All quiet on the front again?" came a voice as large and enthusiastic as the man it came from. He had a round face to match his rotund figure, and a short, neatly trimmed beard gracing his chin. Noticing Yue, he shook the boy out of his chair and sat in it himself as the boy—Ban, apparently--- stumbled to his feet and rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, um, Dad, I was just…inspecting the counter," Ban replied, dragging his finger across the counter. He left a clear line in the dust, and grimaced at his obvious lie. He now noticed their customer as well, and his expression quickly changed to one of "teenage boy sees pretty girl." He quickly dragged out a map from the bottom of a pile in a ditch effort to impress her with his innate knowledge of maps, but the pile simply fell out all over the dusty counter. He looked at the mess with a puppy-dog expression of hopelessness, and then laid the map in his hands on top of it with careful precision. "Uh…sorry 'bout that," Ban said dejectedly.

Yue giggled behind her hand. Ban perked up a little bit. At least now she thought he was funny, and not just stupid. He ran one hand through his hair in the coolest way he knew how. He still might be able to save his reputation if he played it cool from now on. Ban couldn't help but think about what his friends would be saying if they saw him right now. They'd be calling him a dork, probably. A pretty girl his age walks into the store and he got maps and dust all over her, instead of hitting on her? Definitely lame.

He was pretty cute, Yue thought at first, but then caught herself. She would be married in less than a month. She couldn't let herself fall in love again. It only led to pain. Like Sokka…she wondered where he was, and whether he hurt the same way she did for him. At first, she wished he did, because that would mean that he liked her back as much as she liked him. But then she told herself she didn't want that at all. He had been through enough pain already, and she didn't want to add to his ever-mounting problems.

"Well, now you have another chore to do, right Ban?" said his father, bringing everyone's thoughts back to the present. "What can I do you for?" the shopkeeper asked Yue pleasantly, but with the desperate undertone of someone who doesn't get business very often.

"I'd like a map please."

"Well then, I'd say you're in the right place. Where of?"

"From here to Gaoling."

"Gaoling, eh? What's taking you there?" The man began to look through his collection of maps, ignoring the mess of maps his son had caused on the counter and commencing the obligatory shopkeeper small talk. Yue began to get a little nervous at the man's tone. What began as shooting the breeze was now turning into an interrogation session.

"I'll be staying there for a month, so I need a map to get there and back"

"Hmm. Not many people going south lately, and if they are, they only stay in Omashu. Most people are going north, to Ba Sing Se. They say those are the last safe places from the Fire Nation. Gaoling's only safe if you're a Beifong, eh?" Yue's anxiety was well-founded now, but the man had already rolled up her map for her and secured it with a thin piece of twine.

"What do you mean?" she asked, taking her map from him and sliding a few coins across the counter to him in payment.

"Nothing, just the Beifongs run a pretty tight ship up in Gaoling."

"Yes, I've heard a little about them. That's where I'm staying." The man gave her a strange look as she left, but she didn't notice as she hurried out the door, eager to get out without tripping over any boxes.

"Have a nice stay!" Ban called lamely after her, but Yue was already gone.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The Fire Nation prison cells were…actually, not all that bad. Not as good as King Bumi's "newly refurbished" cells, but not bad. The cell was more than large enough for two people, about fifteen feet in each direction. The walls were painted red, of course, and there was just enough light coming in from the torches that lit the hallways. There was a bunk bed on either side of the room, which Katara and Sokka now shared.

Sokka had taken the top bunk the first night, but his constant tossing and turning in his sleep made Katara nervous. Although Katara's worrying was practically a constant in his life, Sokka had relented and the top bunk was now hers. Neither of them wanted to sleep in the other bunk bed, this decision dictated by an unspoken need for sibling companionship.

Despite his relinquishing of the top bunk, Sokka still tossed and turned in his sleep. After the first few nights, he began to talk in his sleep as well. According to Katara, most of his sleep ramblings were pretty ridiculous (ranging from "that's not a hog-monkey, that's my uncle," to "yo tengo dos bicicletas."). But every once in a while, Katara heard him say a name that was far too familiar: Princess Yue. It was obvious that while he said nothing of her while he was awake, he was thinking about her all the time. He spent most of the day staring blankly at the red walls of their cell, and Katara began to fear talking to her own brother. It was like she didn't know him anymore.

So she decided to take out her fear and anger on the guards that stood watch over their cell at all times. She alternately yelled at them, threatened them, and cried at them, hoping that one of them would finally break and tell her where Aang was. Or at least let her out. Of course, the guards outwardly paid no attention to her, but inside they were mentally telling her to shut up. Every guard dreaded their shift in front of the Avatar's traveling companions' cell. Katara knew this, but she still kept up with her harrying of the Fire Nation prison guards.

Which is why she was shocked when they finally let her and Sokka out. During a change in shifts, one guard whispered roughly in the other's ear, to which the first guard simply grunted in affirmation and opened the cell.

"Come with me." He said gruffly, and ushered the Water Tribe siblings down the hall.

"Where are you taking us?" Katara questioned the guard. She got no response, and she was instead guided farther down the hallway. Katara couldn't be completely sure, as the hallways in the prison all looked the same, but she had a feeling that the exit had been in the other direction. Her question was finally answered as they were led to a cell much worse than the one she had just been escorted out of. It was made out of concrete and steel, and grimy water dripped from the ceiling, inviting all sorts of bugs and small animals to congregate there for a drink. The walls weren't even painted the signature red. It was a dismal place, built for the sole purpose of making people miserable. At first she thought that the guards were going to put her and Sokka into it, but then she realized that someone was already occupying the cell. Someone very familiar…

"Aang!" Katara called, and he looked up at her through the bars of the cell.

"Five minutes," said the guard.

Sokka seemed to cheer up considerably at seeing his friend, while Katara could be described as euphoric. She tried her best to give him a hug through the bars of the cell, crying tears of joy on his tattered orange and yellow robes. Sokka stood back, still unusually stoic. Katara stood back to get a good look at him, tears still brimming her eyes.

"Um…how are you doing?" she asked awkwardly.

"Uh…"Aang gestured around the cell, but winced when he brought up his arm.

"You're hurt!" she said, cradling his arm. "I wish I could help, but they won't give me any water, besides for drinking."

"No, really Katara, I'm fine. I just…I should have done something, back at the North Pole. Then none of us would be in this mess."

"There was nothing you could have don-"

"That's just it! I'm the Avatar! I _should_ have been able to do something! But even with all that power, I still failed. I failed the Avatar spirit, the memory of all those who came before me."

"But they were all fully realized Avatars, Aang," Sokka finally said, the first thing Katara had heard him say while awake in days. "You've still only mastered one element. Maybe one element just wasn't enough."

"But how will I learn the other elements if I'm in a Fire Nation prison for the rest of my life?"

"I'm sure we can figure something out. You've got to have hope," said Katara, her forced optimism obvious.

"It's the only thing the Fire Nation can't take from us," added Sokka.

"Because they've taken everything else." Aang said quietly, retreating to a corner of his cell. As Katara and Sokka left to return to their cells, he ruminated on what Katara had said, looking idly around the room. Suddenly, he saw something in the corner that made him very, very happy. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. As he chuckled to himself, he wondered:

"How can firebenders be so _stupid_?"

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I'll try and be better about posting on weekends from now on. Read and review or Katara will cry at you! (And no one wants that!)


	5. Frozen Flames

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. If I did, episodes would not come out in Canada before the U.S. That's just wrong. (My apologies to all you Canadians.)

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The news was bad.

Very bad.

Iroh could have sworn they lit the hallways in the Fire Lord's palace by mood. Today the halls loomed ahead of him, oppressive in the gloom created by the firelight. The shadows seemed to be lurking behind the flickering flames, waiting for him to make a wrong move so they could devour him. The ornate torches on the walls that were set ablaze at intervals throughout the hallway did nothing to permeate the abyss they concealed. Instead, as they flickered it made the entire hallway seem like it was dipping in and out of shadow—a surreal passageway that would at any moment disappear.

He shook his head. His imagination was getting the better of him. Besides, it was a beautiful spring day outside. He had been in the courtyard mere minutes ago, so he knew that for a fact. But still the hallway he had walked so many times before made him tremble somewhere deep in his gut, and Iroh had a lot of gut to spare.

Iroh knew that his nephew would find out soon enough, but he still dreaded being the one to tell him that the Avatar had—once again—escaped. The solider guarding Aang's cell had taken a break for lunch, and when he came back less than an hour later the Avatar's cell was completely empty but for a few rats. Of course, there was no dispute as to how he had gotten out. The broken remains of the cell's barred door were covered in dirty ice that was just beginning to melt. The guard had told Iroh in a frantic terror that he had no idea how the Avatar could have frozen the bars, but Iroh quickly figured it out. The water that dripped in from the ceiling of the cell as a way of demoralizing the prisoners could easily be frozen and used as a means of escape by a competent waterbender, but neither Iroh nor Zuko had expected for Aang to be able to waterbend well enough to escape. Or maybe they had just overlooked it.

Either way, Iroh had underestimated his enemy. One would think that by this point he wouldn't be foolish enough to misjudge the Avatar, especially after he had misjudged the power of the walls of Ba Sing Se all those years ago. And he had lost his son because of it.

The door Iroh finally stopped in front of was just like everything else in this palace: large and in excess. He knew that inside the door lay only a simple study (it had once belonged to him), but the Fire Lord had to keep up appearances. Gold trim curled around the edges like smoke, clearly defining the black and red carving of a stylized flame that flickered in time to the rest of the fire lit hallway. Iroh slowly set his hand against the door, as if he was expecting it to burn him, and began to push it open. He found it to be the opposite, the black marble of the door had absorbed all of the drafts of the hallway and became ice cold—in complete contrast to the flame emblazoned across it.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh began, his voice ringing around the small, drafty study. "I have some unfortunate news…"

"Yes, what is it?" The prince looked up from the maps he was studying, his voice oddly…cheerful? Iroh noticed there was something definitely different in his tone, but he couldn't fathom why his nephew would be cheerful at a time like this. The elder prince braced himself and delivered the news.

"The Avatar has escaped." Whatever reaction Iroh was expecting, he certainly didn't get it. Instead, Zuko stared off at a place just to the side of his uncle's ear.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time…" he said thoughtfully, and that was it. No disbelief, no depression, no outburst of rage. Only silent contemplation. And a very confused uncle. "Thank you for the information, uncle, you may leave now," Zuko told his uncle calmly, returning to his maps.

Iroh left him and headed back out to the sunshine, hurrying through the shadowy passageways and muttering dark words about teenagers.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Katara had finally gotten the guard to speak to her, but she didn't get all the information she had hoped. That is to say, she didn't get any information out of him at all.

"He escaped?"

"Yes, I just told you that."

"Well, where did he go?" The guard was getting more irritable by the second, and Katara could tell that beneath his white faceplate he was giving her a very nasty look indeed.

"If I knew that, I would be hunting him down now instead of chatting with you." The waterbender suddenly turned coy.

"Hey, um…maybe if you would just let me out, I could help you find him…"

"I see some obvious reasons as to why I can't do that."

"Why's that?"

"Well, first of all, it's against our policy to let out prisoners without an order from the Fire Lord—" Katara snorted.

"You have a _policy_?" The guard ignored her and continued.

"—And second, how am I supposed to know that you won't just leave without helping me the second I let you out?—"

"Now why in the world would I do that?" Katara countered, fluttering her eyelashes, but to no effect. The guard ignored her again.

"—And let's not forget the fact that you are quite possibly the most annoying prisoner in the entire Fire Nation, and I dread coming to guard this cell every day just to listen to you complain." The guard seemed to be done with his little rant, and Katara had no reply to his last comment. This was partly due to the fact that she heard a breathy, stifled noise that sounded almost like a polite cough coming from behind her. Sokka was laughing, shaking with mirth on the lower bunk of their bed. Katara gave her brother her signature "evil eye," but it had no effect.

"Give the poor man a break, Katara," he told her once he got his breath back. "Haven't you made him suffer enough?"

"No, and he will continue to suffer until he tells me where Aang is!"

"Look, crazy, I already said—" the guard tried to interject, but Sokka finished for him.

"He doesn't know. All we can do for now is sit back and wait. There's nothing else we _can_ do."

"Damn right there isn't," the guard added smugly.

"Look, will you stay out of this?" With a noise muffled by his faceplate that was akin to an indignant sniff, the guard faced the hallway again and resumed his duties.

"You're right," Katara finally relented, "But I hate it when there's nothing we can do."

"It's better this way," Sokka finished, staring out of the small prison cell window to withdraw into his own world again. Inside himself, things were simpler: no lost love, no broken friendships, and no duties. His mind was content to wait at ease and watch the rest of the world fly by. Sokka would wait out this war, if he had to. He would wait out the world, because his princess would never come back.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

"Yes, it was a mistake, but they were my friends and I didn't mean for anyone to get killed."

"I should hope not, but in any case—"

"Given the situation, sir, I would have done the same thing over again. I didn't have time to consider the possible consequences of saving my friends.—"

"A man died because of your foolishness!—"

"If I hadn't acted when I did, three _more_ men would be dead!"

Colonel Hao glared across his desk at the man sitting across from him. He was very proud of that desk, actually. The dark wood had been imported from the Fire Nation, so it was particularly hard to get here in the Earth Kingdom. He had shined it obsessively until it gleamed with dark perfection, now reflecting the face of the soldier on the other side. Colonel Hao cherished the desk so much, he never used it. All of his paperwork was done on a separate, lesser desk over to the side. This particular desk was simply for show, to intimidate anyone who dared to sit before him at the other end. So it made him particularly angry that the man was drumming his fingers across the wood in exasperation, leaving small, oily marks where his fingers touched the desk.

Sergeant Tach was well aware of how much his battalion commander treasured his desk. Although he showed no emotion on the outside, Tach was sure that each tap of his fingers was wearing him down. Normally, Sergeant Tach would have paid more respect, but as he was going to be released from the Earth Kingdom army anyway, he figured it wouldn't make much of a difference now.

"They were not your concern. You were safe until you decided to go against orders and risk yourself and your men unnecessarily."

"I can't change what happened. But If I'm going to leave, I will leave with my pride." With that, Sergeant Tach stood and walked out the door of Colonel Hao's office and became Tach, the civilian.

Colonel Hao waited a few seconds in silence, and then reached into the lowest drawer of his desk. He pulled out a rag (the only thing inside the drawer) and began to shine the top of the desk with a practiced motion. The paperwork would have to come later.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

It quickly became obvious that Yue had never read a map before in her entire life.

She had never needed to learn how to read a map, after all. The farthest she had ever traveled before two weeks ago was from the Water palace to the shores of the Northern Water Tribe, and she knew the way by heart. Of course, she had seen maps before, detailing trade ports with the Earth Kingdom, but they had seemed so far and unreachable to her that she had never asked about them. Nor did her teachers find it an important thing for her to study. Apparently the subjects of breeding buffalo-yaks and building canoes (she wasn't allowed to do either) were far more useful for her to learn.

It wasn't that she couldn't figure out which direction to go, or how far it was from Sholing to Gaoling, but she couldn't seem to put this information into practical use. She knew how _far_ a mile was, it was just that she didn't know how long it would take to _travel_ that mile. So she resorted to asking random strangers for help.

The man who finally stopped to help seemed nice enough. He was tall, a head or two higher than Yue, and very muscular. But even with his formidable physique, he had a very relaxed air around him. His eyes were brown, a shade or two lighter than his simple topknot. His green uniform identified him as a sergeant in the Earth Kingdom army, although Yue didn't know that. His face, although normally friendly, had now changed to an expression of mild confusion and concern.

"You're traveling all this way by yourself?"

"Yes, sir."

"You do realize this is, at best, a three-and-a-half-day journey?"

"Ummm…" Yue bit her lip. She had not, in fact, realized just how long this trip would be. Not only that, but she had no idea of what this terrain would be like. She obviously had not planned on this, and she had no supplies, no transportation, and no clue about how to travel alone. What was she getting herself into? Her indecision seemed to confirm the man's suspicions, and he handed back her map.

"I'll tell you what. I've traveled this route before, and I know the best way to get there. I could escort you to Gaoling, free of charge." Yue hesitated.

"Oh, I'm sorry mister…"

"Tach."

"Mister Tach, I wouldn't want to force you to go with me, or be a burden in any way…"

"Of course you won't. I'd be happy to go with you. Besides, I'd like to visit Gaoling again myself."

"But don't you have a family, or a job?" Yue put one hand over her mouth as soon as she said that. She had met this man just a few minutes ago and she was already prying into his personal life? This wasn't like her at all. Tach didn't seem to mind, though, and his warm smile remained unchanged.

"No. Most of my family is dead, and I was just relieved of my job today."

"Oh. I'm sorry—"

"Don't be. Neither one of those events has anything to do with you. So, what do you say we get you some supplies?" Tach began to walk off toward the market. When he had gotten twenty paces, he turned his head to see Yue still standing there. "You coming?" he asked. Yue faltered a moment, and then ran to catch up.

"Yes, Mister Tach." He laughed.

"Just Tach will do. Besides, you haven't even told me your name."

"Yue."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Yue."

"It's nice to meet you too, Tach."

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Aang wished he could go back. As he had escaped from his prison cell, he hadn't had time to think of anybody but himself. And now that he was safe, the people he had left behind were the _only_ ones he could think about. And now, because he didn't think things through, he was stranded in the Fire Nation, hiding behind the prison tower beneath a small cover of stone. Without Appa, he had no transportation. He missed Katara, Sokka…even Momo. For the first time in his life, he felt completely alone.

It was too late to go back for them now. Surely by now the guards would have noticed his absence, and they were probably searching for him. He couldn't risk sneaking back into the prison tower only to be captured again.

Suddenly a thought hit him. Maybe all of his allies from the North Pole were imprisoned now, but that still left everyone in the Earth Kingdom! Maybe his old friend Bumi could help him rescue his friends! When they were kids, they always used to play that they were fierce soldiers, or spies, or even magical spirit-warriors who had to break out of jail to exact justice. The only difference now was that it was all real, and they weren't soldiers, spies, or spirit-warriors, and his friends' lives probably hung in the balance. But it was basically the same thing, right?

Besides, now Aang was the Avatar, and Bumi was a king of one of the most powerful places in the Earth Kingdom next to Ba Sing Se. Surely he would have some allies willing to help him as well. Omashu was still a long way away, but Aang could travel faster by himself anyway. Aang punched one fist in the air with joy. He would have let out a laugh as well, but he made sure to stay quiet in the shadows where he was hiding. This could work! If only he had his glider…

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

_He was in his father's throne room. Everything was like it had always been, with rich attention to detail, lots of gold and red walls, and of course, the wall of flame obscuring the throne behind it. But tonight, it was different. The flames should have made the room brighter, warmer, but instead they left the room dim and cold as ice. It was if they were acting backwards: taking _in _warmth and light instead of spreading it. The only purpose they served was to veil his father's imposing figure behind them._

"_You captured the Avatar, and you let him escape."_

_He knew that voice well. He had heard it speak the same words, not too long ago. For some reason, he could not remember where…Now, though, he bowed his head in shame. His father had not asked for a response; just let the statement of his son's shame hang frozen in the air. So he did not speak._

"_I should have known. You have failed in everything else, why should this have been different? Although I will admit I had never expected you to _find_ him in the first place. But it is just a minor setback. I have sent someone else to capture him. Someone far more…competent."_

_He wished he could speak now. He wanted to remind his father of how he had taken down the entire Northern Water Tribe, and that he still had the Avatar's friends as bait, not to mention he also had the Avatar's bison. He had a better chance of tracking him down than anyone had had in the last hundred years! But no matter how much he tried to speak, the words would refuse to come out. He could only listen._

"_And what of your betrothed?"_

_That was a low blow. Another failure upon failure. But, he reminded himself, he had a plan in place to remedy that. _

"_I'm working on it, father," he told the shadowy figure quietly, half to himself._

"_That may be, but until then, you are no longer welcome here. You will leave by tomorrow afternoon. You are _dismissed_."_

With those words, his dream dissipated. As he opened his eyes, however, he realized it had not been a dream. His father_ had _dismissed him last night. (But the flames then had been hot, not cold.)

Zuko rolled out of his bed with a thud. The marble floors of his room were as cold (as cold as the floors of his dream), but he chose to ignore them instead of heating them with his firebending like usual. Despite the chilly floors, he was going to miss this room. It had seemed so large when he was little, but he had grown into it. He knew he had grown in the last three years at sea, and his feet almost touched the other end of his bed. It was the bed he would miss the most. The bunks in the ship had been anything but comfortable, and he had put himself to sleep every night with the thought that he would be back in his own bed tomorrow.

He hadn't been lying to his father when he told him he was working on a plan. He was not particularly excited to return to the sea, but at least this time he knew what he was doing. He had planned on journeying to the Earth Kingdom anyway, and his (re-)banishment only served to launch his plans earlier.

Zuko got dressed and bid his room one last farewell. After much debating, he decided not to visit his uncle.

He had other things to accomplish.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Night fell quickly on the second day of the journey, and Yue and Tach set up camp next to a river in the shade of a few trees. The ostrich-horses they had just ridden through the steep terrain that led here were now fed, watered, and tied for the night, and since the night was warm and clear there was no need for a tent. Tach set up a campfire using his spark rocks, and Yue tried to pitch in with gathering firewood. She ended up with an armful of sticks and a dozen scratches.

When they finally settled, Tach looked at the map again. He outlined their path on the map with the tip of one of the sticks Yue proudly placed beside him.

"Okay, so we're right about here," he said, pointing at a spot near the mouth of a squiggly blue line. Yue mentally connected 'squiggly blue line' with 'river.' "And right about here," he continued, now pointing a little farther south, "Is a shortcut to Omashu."

"A shortcut?" asked Yue. He was pointing at an empty space on the map.

"The cave of two lovers." Tach said with the slightest air of mystery in his voice. Yue looked closer.

"It's not on the map," she confirmed.

"Trust me, it's there. They say that the only way to get through it alive is to believe in love— " Yue frowned slightly as Tach let the sentence hang. She hadn't had much reason to believe in love lately. So far it had led to pain and confusion. Mostly confusion, but a lot of pain. "—But that's just a superstition. All you have to do is go in without lights and the crystals in the cave will naturally light the way out. It's pretty cool, actually," he finished.

"So you've been to this cave?"

"Oh, sure. It's a well-kept secret of the Earth Kingdom army. The Fire Nation troops have the whole place surrounded, and can't think how we're getting through. Even the firebenders who _do_ know where it is think its suicide to go in. They get lost in there forever if they don't put out their lights."

"So how do _you_ know about it?"

"I was in the Earth Kingdom army. Almost ten years. Just got fired, actually."

"Oh," was all Yue could think to say. It wasn't that the news was particularly exciting. Tach's survival skills were obviously well-taught, so it didn't surprise her too much that he had been a soldier. What _did_ surprise her was how little she knew about this man. She should have had more common sense than to just trust the first person she met to lead her all the way to Gaoling. And she was a fugitive from the Fire Nation! For all she knew, he could be leading her right into a trap. And she would be powerless to stop him.

As she looked at the man across the campfire, whittling a stick with a smile, her blood ran cold. How could she have trusted him? His jovial appearance was probably just to lure her into a false sense of security.

…But she couldn't navigate the terrain without him.

With Tach, she was in danger. Without him, she was dead.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

A/N: Cliffhanger-y goodness! Here's my belated Christmas (Sorry, all you politically-correct folks: _holiday_) present from me to you: 263 more words than usual and a new character! -Insert thunderous applause here- So, as usual, read and review!


End file.
